Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Resolution Resolved
By now you've likely heard about this:
The Washington Post leads with Democratic and Republican senators who oppose President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq announcing last night they have reached a compromise and will support a resolution put forward by Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia. The nonbinding resolution isn't as strongly worded as the one Democrats preferred, but after Warner made some changes they decided it was their best chance to get Republican support.
Look. I'm as impatient as anyone on this planet to stop the carnage in Iraq now. I'm also for sending in D.C. police to arrest Bush in the White House for criminal felony wiretapping charges. But it ain't gonna happen.

On a practical level I realize that balancing power in the U.S. is a process. It took many resolutions and a number of years to knock off LBJ and then Nixon. If Congress has to take a laborious route to countering Bush's power, then this is a good way to start. The Dems could have jammed a toughly worded resolution through the Senate. By getting a resolution with much more bipartisan support, it will actually have more impact. And afterall, it's a non-binding resolution, not policy. Meanwhile, others continue to chip away at the process with legislation to defund the war. It'll take time, but momentum will eventually grow on that too.

It's unfortunate that so many human lives must be sacrificed due to the foils of people in power. But that's the way it is for now. At least we're moving in the right direction for a change.
Written at 9:18 AM by Greyhair.
0 comments